Cross Country Notebook: Gill's Smith gets his 1st shot at Holmdel Park
Courier News 10-05-06
Sometimes, when he's working out with the cross country team on Gill St. Bernard's lush campus, Doug Smith can't help himself. "Every time we run around the soccer field I start kicking the soccer ball around," Smith said. "Coach (Ryan) Grote will yell at me, 'Get back to the run!' "
Smith used to be a soccer guy. Now he's a cross country guy. Running a time of 9:14 in the 3200, as Smith did in setting a state freshman record last spring, will do that to you.
"I do miss it, but it's hard to miss once you get into the running," he said. Smith will wade knee-deep into the running Saturday, when he races Holmdel Park's vaunted course for the first time. He's already raced twice this fall, winning the Gill St. Bernard's Invitational and a tri-meet, but this is more like the midterm exam after a couple of quizzes. All eyes will be watching when the Boys F race tips off the day's varsity action at 10:08 a.m. "I'm really psyched, to be running at Holmdel and posting a time that everyone else can see," said Smith, a transfer from Roxbury. "And hopefully everyone will look at it early in the day and shoot for it."
Holmdel has been known to chew up rookies. Smith has worked out on the course a few times, but Holmdel's wild peaks and valleys offer as many psychological challenges as physical ones. And until you've felt the melted-rubber legs that come from scaling the notorious midrace hill known as The Bowl, it's hard to truly be ready for it.
"It's just a matter of patience and understanding that the first mile is slow," Grote said. "I don't think it's a slow course if you run it correctly. I'm not a big believer in attacking the uphills. The rest of the course you can attack on."
Smith will have at least one runner to push him along: Pingry senior Chris Scavone, owner of a 9:25 3200. Pingry is the big favorite to win the Boys F team title, but keep an eye on Gill, which has another runner who can break 17 minutes (Taylor Coate) and a third who is capable of breaking 18 (Billy Raska).
If two more guys come along, look out.
"I'm just hoping 19:30 for our fourth and fifth guys," Grote said. "If we can do that, it would be a success. Not everybody is on the same page running 70 miles a week over the summer. If those guys come through, that would be a help."
